Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas builds its story around Carl "CJ" Johnson's return from Liberty City to Los Santos and his renewed ties to Sweet and the Grove Street Families. The wider cast reaches beyond mission contacts to radio personalities, mentioned figures, and people removed during development.
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Role
Protagonist
Carl "CJ" Johnson is the playable protagonist whose return to Los Santos drives the San Andreas campaign.
Carl Johnson
Carl Johnson is the playable protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Returning to Los Santos after his mother's murder, CJ reconnects with Grove Street Families in Ganton and later expands across San Fierro and Las Venturas.
- Affiliation
- Grove Street Families
- Status
- playable
- Location
- Los Santos
- First Appearance
- In The Beginning
- Voice Actor
- Young Maylay
Role
Antagonists
This role identifies direct opposition within CJ's story. It describes narrative function rather than mission frequency or difficulty.
Frank Tenpenny
Frank Tenpenny is the central antagonist of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and leads C.R.A.S.H. / LSPD in Los Santos.
- Affiliation
- C.R.A.S.H. / LSPD
- Status
- antagonist
- Location
- Los Santos
- First Appearance
- In The Beginning
- Voice Actor
- Samuel L. Jackson
Role
Main Characters
Recurring campaign figures shape CJ's family, Grove Street, business, criminal, and government storylines across San Andreas.
Eddie Pulaski
- Affiliation
- C.R.A.S.H.
- Location
- Los Santos
- First Appearance
- In The Beginning
- Voice Actor
- Chris Penn
Melvin Harris (Big Smoke)
- Affiliation
- Grove Street Families (later Ballas)
- Location
- Los Santos
- First Appearance
- Big Smoke
- Voice Actor
- Clifton Powell
Sean Johnson (Sweet)
- Affiliation
- Grove Street Families
- Location
- Los Santos
- First Appearance
- Sweet & Kendl
- Voice Actor
- Faizon Love
Lance Wilson (Ryder)
- Affiliation
- Grove Street Families
- Location
- Los Santos
- First Appearance
- Ryder
- Voice Actor
- MC Eiht
Kendl Johnson
- Affiliation
- Grove Street Families
- Location
- Los Santos
- First Appearance
- Sweet & Kendl
- Voice Actor
- Yolanda Whittaker
Cesar Vialpando
- Affiliation
- Varrios Los Aztecas
- Location
- Los Santos
- First Appearance
- Cesar Vialpando
- Voice Actor
- Clifton Collins Jr.
Jeffrey Cross (OG Loc)
- Affiliation
- Grove Street Families
- Location
- Los Santos
- First Appearance
- OG Loc
- Voice Actor
- Jonathan Anderson
Catalina
- Affiliation
- Independent
- Location
- San Andreas
- First Appearance
- First Date
- Voice Actor
- Cynthia Farrell
The Truth
- Affiliation
- Independent
- Location
- San Andreas
- First Appearance
- Body Harvest
- Voice Actor
- Peter Fonda
Wu Zi Mu
- Affiliation
- San Fierro Triads
- Location
- San Fierro
- First Appearance
- Wu Zi Mu
- Voice Actor
- James Yaegashi
Zero
- Affiliation
- Zero RC
- Location
- San Fierro
- First Appearance
- Wear Flowers in Your Hair
- Voice Actor
- David Cross
Jizzy B.
- Affiliation
- Loco Syndicate
- Location
- San Fierro
- First Appearance
- Photo Opportunity
- Voice Actor
- Charlie Murphy
T-Bone Mendez
- Affiliation
- Loco Syndicate
- Location
- San Fierro
- First Appearance
- Photo Opportunity
- Voice Actor
- Kid Frost
Mike Toreno
- Affiliation
- Loco Syndicate (government operative)
- Location
- San Fierro
- First Appearance
- Photo Opportunity
- Voice Actor
- James Woods
Kent Paul
- Affiliation
- Independent (music)
- Location
- San Andreas
- First Appearance
- Don Peyote
- Voice Actor
- Danny Dyer
Maccer
- Affiliation
- Independent (music)
- Location
- San Andreas
- First Appearance
- Don Peyote
- Voice Actor
- GTA SA actor
Ken Rosenberg
- Affiliation
- Caligula's Palace
- Location
- Las Venturas
- First Appearance
- Intensive Care
- Voice Actor
- William Fichtner
Madd Dogg
- Affiliation
- Independent (music)
- Location
- San Andreas
- First Appearance
- Madd Dogg
- Voice Actor
- Ice-T
CJ and the campaign cast
Carl Johnson is the playable protagonist throughout San Andreas. His return to Los Santos brings him back into the Grove Street Families story, but his path expands across the state and introduces allies, rivals, officials, business contacts, and figures from other corners of the GTA world.
The role groupings describe narrative function, not whether a character is friendly or how often that person appears. Main Characters covers recurring campaign figures such as Sweet, Big Smoke, Ryder, Kendl, Cesar, The Truth, Wu Zi Mu, and Mike Toreno. Antagonists identifies direct opposition, while the broader Minor Characters grouping includes people with very different levels and types of presence.
Characters beyond mission encounters
Not every named person is met during a mission. San Andreas also develops its world through radio hosts, station DJs, callers, relatives discussed by other characters, historical figures, Epsilon Program followers, and fictional entertainers. Some overviews explicitly say that a person does not appear in a mission. Others describe somebody who is mentioned, heard through broadcast media, or known through background material.
Deleted characters also appear when their planned connection to San Andreas is documented. Treat those cases as unused development material rather than people encountered in the released campaign.
Reading mission appearance ranges
Many overviews use two mission titles separated by a dash. These titles mark the character's first and last mission appearances; they do not mean the person appears in every mission between them. A single mission title indicates a narrower appearance, while a full paragraph is used when background, radio, mentioned-only, or deleted-character context matters more than a mission range.
Character summaries can reveal affiliations, deaths, betrayals, or late-game appearances. Players avoiding story spoilers should rely on the name and role first, then read the overview only when they want the additional context.
This broad role includes shorter mission appearances, optional acquaintances, radio personalities, mentioned figures, background lore, and deleted characters. It does not mean every person is encountered face to face.
FAQ
Is the character scope limited to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas?
Yes. The focus is San Andreas and its campaign world, including people mentioned through its missions, radio, background material, or unused development content.
Does every character appear in a mission?
No. Some people are heard on the radio, mentioned by others, described through background material, or marked as deleted characters. Several are explicitly identified as having no mission appearance.
What do two mission titles in an overview mean?
They mark the character's first and last mission appearances. They do not indicate an appearance in every mission between those points.
Why do some names include parentheses?
Parentheses connect a formal name with the alias used more often in the story, such as Melvin Harris and Big Smoke or Sean Johnson and Sweet.
Does Minor Characters mean every person has only a small cameo?
No. It is a broad supporting category that covers mission figures, optional acquaintances, broadcast personalities, mentioned people, background lore, and deleted material.
Are deleted characters part of the released campaign?
No. Their overviews describe planned roles that were removed during development, so they should not be treated as normal campaign encounters.